Don't Leave
by kaejay
Summary: What happened in the days leading up to Dana’s departure? DL OneShot. R&R!


Disclaimer: Okay, if you seriously think I own Zoey 101, well…you've got some issues. I DO wish I could own Matthew Underwood though ;) But for now, I sadly resign myself to owning nothing.

A/N: Okay, this is my first totally finished, actually posted FanFic. I urge all of you to review! Constructive criticism is welcome,and flames will be ignored.. Happy reading!

* * *

Dana Cruz paced around her room, hands in the pockets of her black cargo pants, occasionally shooting nervous glances at a letter that was now lying open on her bed. Sheglanced at the clock. It had been almost two hours since it had arrived, and even now Dana couldn't fully process the life-altering information the letter possessed.

But Dana knew she wouldn't be able to get to sleep now with this still hanging over her head, and Zoey and Nicole weren't even back to the dorm yet.

She tentatively walked over to her bed and picked up the letter, slowly reading it again, as if this time the content would change and it wouldn't mean what she thought it meant.

_Dear Ms. Dana Cruz_

_We are pleased to inform you that after reviewing your application, we have accepted you to the European Exchange Program for Students for the coming semester in Paris, France. Attached are the rules and regulations regarding tuition and campus etiquette that must be adhered to throughout the duration of this program. This is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you should feel honored to have this experience…_

Dana sighed, tossed the letter onto the floor, and laid down on her bed in exhaustion, lying her arms across her face.

How was she going to tell the rest of the gang she was leaving PCA?

And more importantly, how was she going to tell Logan?

Sure, they fought all the time and most people thought they hated each other, but over the last few months Dana had started to like Logan as more then a friend if you could even call him a friend to begin with.

_Hell_, Dana thought to herself, _I would even go so far as to say I love him. How the hell am I going to say goodbye?_

Dana had applied to this program before she came to PCA, before she met everyone and actually liked it here, and before Logan.

Logan. Why was he always on her mind? She was pathetic.

Even sitting here now, she could envision his cute, arrogant, you-so-want-me smirk in her mind.

God, how she loved that smirk.

It was only the familiar BEEP! of her computer, signaling she had gotten an instant message, that brought her out of her daydreams.

Dana got up from her bed, carefully stepping over the letter that still lay on the floor, and sat at her computer desk, smiling to herself when she realized it was none other then Logan Reese himself who had IMed her.

_PCALogan210: Hey, Cruz. Where are you? The gang's all over at our dorm…you should come by._

Dana smiled to herself. Logan wanted her to come over.

_PCADana101: Hey, Reese. Sure, I'll be over in a minute. I have something important to tell you guys anyways._

Dana's smile faltered for a second as she realized that she had to tell them all sooner or later that she was leaving PCA. She turned around and glanced at the letter on the floor, her stomach lurching into her throat as she thought about it.

But no. She had to do it, and the sooner the better. She would tell them today.

Dana's attention turned back to the computer screen as she realized that Logan had replied.

_PCALogan210: Ohh…intrigue. Care to share? Wait. Let me guess. You've decided to submit to my charms and are finally coming clean to the fact that you love me?;)_

Dana laughed to herself. If he only knew. But she knew exactly what to say to keep him on his toes.

_PCADana101: Ha. I'm impressed that you even know the word "intrigue" and actually used it in a sentence correctly. And you wish. Anyways, I'll head over there now. See you in a minute._

Dana hurriedly got up and picked the letter up off the floor, stuffing it into the desk drawer in case either Nicole or Zoey came back before she did. Even though they would probably know by then, Dana didn't want to risk it.

The computer beeped again and Dana made her way over to see Logan's response.

_PCALogan210: Hey! I'm offended. And you're right, I do wish it :P Okay, Cruz, see you in a few. Later._

Dana smiled and quickly signed offline as she grabbed her dorm key and headed out the door.

* * *

As Dana made her way down the guy's dorm hallway, she mentally went over what she was going to say. She didn't want to sound too "screw you"-ish, and come off like she never wanted to see or talk to them again, but neither did she want seem like she had lost her edge.

As she reached the guy's dorm, room 210, Dana hesitated and then knocked on the door a few times.

A few seconds later, it opened to reveal Logan on the other side.

"Hey, Cruz. Miss me?" Logan asked with his trademark smirk gracing his handsome features.

"Not from this distance," Dana replied with a smirk of her own as she made her way past him into the room, which revealed Zoey, Nicole, Chase, and Michael sitting around on the various couches and chairs, talking to one another.

"Aww…come on, don't deny it Dana, you know you want me," Logan smirked as he followed her inside. Dana just rolled her eyes in response.

He held out his arm in an 'after you' fashion and the two made their way over to the rest of the group. Dana and Logan sat down next to each other on the remaining couch, and joined in on the conversation,

But Dana's heart wasn't in it, she was contemplating what to say to the gang about her leaving. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get the words right.

Actually, Dana was so into her own little world, that she didn't register when everyone got up and started walking towards the door. In fact, the only thing that made her snap out of it was Logan snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"Hey, Cruz…EARTH TO CRUZ. Snap out of it, Dana!"

Suddenly Dana jerked to attention and found Logan staring down at her with a look of puzzlement etched on his face. Dana slowly got up and turned to face him.

"Uhh…sorry…I was, um…thinking," Dana replied.

Logan then smirked and opened his mouth as if to say a retort, but Dana was too fast and said "Zip it," before Logan could utter a word.

A cute pout emerged on his face and Dana playfully slapped his arm.

"Hey, Dana, Logan," Chase's voice brought the two out of their moment, "we're all going to get ice cream…want to come?"

Dana and Logan glanced at each other and nodded their heads, following the others out the door.

* * *

Right now the gang were sitting outside the local ice cream parlor crowded around a small circular table. It was in the order of Zoey, with her vanilla cone with rainbow sprinkles, Chase, with his mint chocolate chip, Michael, with his pistachio, Logan, with his vanilla-chocolate combo, Dana, with her double chocolate chip, and Nicole, with her strawberry.

Dana squirmed in her seat slightly as she thought this would probably be the best time to tell them all about her leaving. Logan noticed this and then remembered something that Dana had told him earlier.

"Hey, Cruz…didn't you say you had something you wanted to tell us?" Logan inquired.

Dana looked at him alarmed that he had brought it up.

_Crap_, Dana thought, _well, it's now or never I guess_.

By now Dana had the attention of the entire table, who were staring at her expectantly. Dana took a deep breath, and started to talk…

"Well…you see guys…this afternoon I got this letter…" Dana paused and looked at her friends' faces, who silently told her to keep going. After a barely perceptible glance at Logan, she continued.

"And…um…it was from the European Exchange Program for Students. You see, I applied for their program before I came here to PCA, because I thought there was no way I would like it here. And, so…in the letter….it said…I….uh….got accepted," Dana finished hurriedly, looking at her friends' blank faces.

It was only Logan who seemed to get where Dana was going with this, but wanted to make sure before his total freak-out.

"Wait, Dana, what are you saying?" Logan asked, trying to keep the alarm out of his voice, but Dana still caught it.

And after moving past the surprise of him called her "Dana" and not "Cruz," she answered his question.

"What I'm saying is…I won't be coming back next semester," Dana said to her now-melting ice cream.

After nobody said anything for a few seconds, Dana looked up at her friends' faces. Zoey's and Nicole's showed a mix of confusion and utter sadness, Chase's and Michael's showed the same sadness, but not to the same degree.

And Logan's. When Dana glanced at him she could see a variety of emotions. Hurt, confusion, sadness, but most of all…anger? ANGER? How in the hell could he be _angry _with her? She was the one that was leaving.

But there is was, unmistakable on his features: anger.

Before Dana could comprehend what was happening, Zoey and Nicole sprung up from their seats with an "Oh, Dana!" and practically tackled Dana to the ground, tears streaming down the two teenage girls' faces.

Dana wasn't crying. Of course not. She had to maintain her "tough girl" image.

But even so, Dana could feel unshed tears building up behind her eyes, and she inconspicuously brushed them away.

When Dana finally looked up from being hugged, very tightly I might add, by Nicole and Zoey, she saw Chase and Michael gazing at them with the same expressions of sadness as before.

But there also was something else written on their faces, and Dana could only describe it as awkward.

Then Dana finally realized what was going on. When she turned her head to the side, she realized Logan was gone, his ice cream still left melting on the table.

* * *

The next few days passed by Dana as a blur, packing up her dorm room and saying goodbye to all her friends.

Well, not all of them.

Dana hadn't seen Logan since last night at the ice cream parlor. She learned from Chase and Michael that he had been hold up in their dorm room, and refused to speak to anyone. Especially Dana.

This hurt Dana more than anything, that Logan refused to see her. She was _leaving_ for goodness sake, and he still didn't want to talk to her.

But, being the "tough girl" Dana was, she didn't show her emotions. Instead, she went on like any normal day.

Right now Dana was packing up her suitcases, with Zoey and Nicole helping her. Dana was leaving tomorrow, in the early hours of the morning. Dana had insisted that Nicole and Zoey not get up that early just to say goodbye to her, so they were going to get their goodbyes out of the way tonight.

Neither of the three girls were saying anything for a while, but they all wanted to, they just couldn't find the right words. Nicole was the one to finally break the silence.

"DANA I'M GONNA MISS YOU SOOO MUCH!" Nicole squealed as fresh tears began to fall and she ran over and unexpectedly tackled Dana to the floor for the second time in a 24-hour period.

"ME TOO!" Zoey cried out, tears falling down her face as well, as she went over and joined the group hug.

Dana was trying to console her roommates, patting them on the backs and telling them that they would talk on the phone, email, IM, everything, but nothing would make them stop crying. Dana could feel tears pricking at the back of her eyes too, but she determinedly held them back.

That was how Chase and Michael found them, who had just walked into the room. They glanced at each other uncomfortably, not knowing what to do with a bunch of crying girls.

"Hey Chase, Michael, what brings you guys by?" Dana asked, trying to sound as cheerful as possible, finally succeeding in prying Zoey's and Nicole's arms off of her and standing up.

"Oh, you know, we just wanted to see if you needed any help…you know, with packing and everything," Chase responded, still looking wearily at Nicole and Zoey, who were still sobbing on the floor, now clinging to each other.

"Oh, uh, thanks…I'm almost done, but it was sweet of you guys to come by," Dana said, giving them a genuine smile.

She had been trying harder over the past few days to be nicer to everyone, because she _was_ leaving, and she didn't want everyone's last memory of her to be of a heartless bitch.

"Yeah, no problem," Michael said, smiling back at her.

"Okay, I don't want to get all mushy here, but I'm leaving, so what the hell, screw it," Dana started, "I'm really gonna miss you guys."

"Aww, Dana, we're gonna miss you too," Chase said, and Michael and him pulled Dana into a group hug.

While they were in the middle of the hug, Dana whispered in Chase's ear "Tell her," and when they pulled apart, she gave him a knowing wink. Chase blushed slightly, knowing exactly what Dana was talking about.

"Soo…" Dana said, eager to change the subject, "where's _Logan_ today?" Dana spoke his name like it was poison on her lips. She _loved_ him, she still does, but he had hurt her more than anything with not wanting to say goodbye.

Chase and Michael glanced at each other nervously, not knowing if they should tell Dana or not.

Dana, of course, saw this and looked back from Chase and Michael deciding which one it would be easier to scare it out of him.

Chase.

_Screw the nice-ness_, Dana thought as she grabbed Chase by the collar of his shirt and pushed him up against the wall. Chase let out a yelp in surprise and fear.

"Now, I'm only going to say this once so listen up," Dana said as Chase looked back at her with absolute terror in his eyes. "Spill it."

Well, the old Dana Cruz was back. So much for going soft.

Chase looked at Michael with 'HELP ME!' showing clearly in his eyes. Michael just held up his hands, palms outward, and back away, not wanting to get in the middle of Danger Cruz.

Chase sighed, some friend Michael was, and looked back at Dana. "Fine Dana, I'll tell you what Logan has been like, but be forewarned, you're not going to like it."

_Logan was lying down on his bed in only his boxers, casually tossing an old baseball in the air when Chase and Michael came in. Logan glanced at them, but other then that didn't acknowledge their presence._

"_Hey dude, we're going over to the girls' dorm to see if Dana needs any help packing or anything, you want to come?" Chase asked Logan hesitantly, as he had made it clear that he didn't want to talk about Dana._

"_Yeah man, but shower first -- you smell bad," Michael interjected. Logan glared at him and Chase sighed in a sarcastic 'way to help the situation, there, Michael' way._

"_Yeah, right, like I'll ever do anything to help that bitch," Logan spat out._

"_Dude, whatever you're problem is with Dana, just get over it. She's _leaving_ man, just swallow your damn pride and say goodbye," Michael tried to reason. "I don't even know why you're acting this way."_

"_Dude, it's her that's the problem. Besides, I don't care if she's leaving. She can never come back for all I care," Logan said, and Michael and Chase shook their heads disapprovingly and walked out the door to head over to the girls' dorm._

Dana's eyes widened as the let go of Chase's shirt and took a few steps back.

It was true, he didn't care about her at all. He didn't care that she was leaving, and he didn't even want to say goodbye.

Well fine, if that's the way he wants it, that's fine by her.

Dana could feel the tears once again threatening to fall harder then ever, and this time she couldn't hold them in, but she ran out of the room before anyone else could see her cry.

Zoey, Nicole, Chase, and Michael exchanged worried glances and quickly ran after her down the hall.

As Dana raced down the hallway towards the girls' lounge, all she could think was how Logan could say all of that about her. Sure, they fought all the time, but Dana always thought that deep down they liked each other.

As Dana ran down into the lounge, she was greeted by a large group of PCA students who shouted "SURPRISE!" upon her arrival.

Dana froze and took one look around the room. It was decorated in PCA's signature colors and had a banner hanging above the door that read "Goodbye Dana" and another one that said "We'll Miss You!"

Dana could feel Zoey, Nicole, Chase, and Michael come up behind her, and Zoey placed her hand reassuringly on Dana's shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

Then, a thought came to Dana's mind. She looked around the room hurriedly to see if there was any way possible she could be right.

She felt Chase come up beside her, and he whispered in her ear "He's not here."

This was the last straw. Dana took off running in a full sprint towards the beach. She could hear the calls of her friends urging her to come back, but Dana didn't care. She couldn't deal with all of this right now.

She would be back later to say goodbye to Zoey, Nicole, Chase, Michael, Dustin, and even Quinn, but Dana couldn't deal with all those other people who barely knew her.

As Dana reached the beach she plopped down on the sand and rested her head in her hands.

She couldn't get him out of her head. Logan. What was so great about him anyway? Sure, he was hot, but he was also an arrogant, cocky, ass.

_But a cute ass_, Dana's mind couldn't help but interjecting.

As Dana gazed out upon the sunset, her mind replayed all of their times together at PCA.

Most of it was fighting of course, but they always managed to flirt as well. Over the months, Dana had grown to love that arrogant jerk, and she at least thought he liked her back.

But she was determined to get over Logan. He didn't want anything to do with her, and that was fine by her. Well, not really. But she would make it fine with her.

She would get over Logan Reese, and that was final.

* * *

Dana's alarm clock rang loudly in her ear as she was forced to get out of her peaceful slumber. Well, peaceful, not so much.

After Dana had come back from the beach the night before, she had said goodbye to all her friends, well, except for Logan, while apologizing about running out, literally, on their goodbye party. They seemed to understand, but Dana could still tell they really didn't want her to leave.

Dana quickly turned off her alarm clock, so as not to wake up Nicole and Zoey, and quietly got out of bed.

It was 2:15 AM, and the cab was coming at 3; she had a 5:00 flight to France. Dana had already packed up her bags the night before, and she just quickly had to take a shower, get dressed, and put her make-up on. By the time she was done, it was 2:45.

Dana rounded up all of her bags and placed them out in the hall. When she went back to close the door, she looked at the sleeping Nicole and Zoey, and whispered "Bye you guys, I'm really going to miss you." Without another word, she quietly shut the door and rolled her suitcases down the hall.

As she passed a window, Dana looked out and saw that it was raining especially hard.

_Great, just what I need_, Dana thought to herself sarcastically, _must be some kind of foreshadowing_.

Dana pushed open the door to the girls' lounge and stepped outside, the rain soaking her hair thoroughly, and she made her way to the curb with her bags, trying not to think about one certain cocky guy.

* * *

Speaking of the cocky guy, currently Logan was lying awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He kept thinking about Dana, and how he knew she was leaving right now. He had found out from Chase about her 3 AM cab ride and, since it was now 2:50, he figured she was out there.

Logan sat in his bed thinking about how he had been acting the past few days. He himself was the only one who truly knew why he was being such a jerk.

Logan had a reputation at PCA for being a ladies man, a player. He wasn't about to let one girl ruin all of that. Before, Logan just wanted to make-out with Dana like she was just any other girl, but who was he kidding: she wasn't any other girl. Logan loved her, plain and simple, and that scared the hell out of him.

So, he was just going to cut her out of his life. Don't say goodbye, don't deal with her leaving. Pretend like you hate her, and eventually you will. After a while he'd get over her, and have his old ways back.

But in the back of his mind, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that that wouldn't happen. He would never get over Dana.

But Logan kept trying to convince himself of the contrary.

Logan looked at the clock again, 2:51, and tapped his foot nervously on his bed.

With another look at the clock, Logan jumped out of bed, said "Aw, screw it," and raced out of the room at full speed.

* * *

Dana tapped her foot impatiently on the ground. Not only was she getting drenched, since the rain hadn't let up at all, the time kept going on and she was going to be late for her flight.

Dana let out an exasperated sigh and crossed her arms over her chest, jumping up and down slightly to try and get warm.

All of a sudden, she thought she distantly heard someone yell "DANA," but she shrugged it off as just the wind. Then, a few seconds later, she heard it again. This time she turned around and saw a figure running toward her.

For a moment she was scared, but as the figure got closer, she realized who it was. Logan. Part of her was angry to see him, but part of her was glad he showed up.

As Logan ran up, he stopped in front of her, bending over and resting his hands on his knees, panting heavily trying to regain his breath.

"Logan?" Dana said with an edge to her voice, "what do you want?"

"I…I…I…" Logan sputtered, still breathing heavily. Finally he looked up at her, with his hair dripping wet, and locked eyes with Dana. Dana had to admit he looked really cute completely soaked, but little did she know he was thinking the exact same thing about her. "I wanted to say goodbye."

"Well," Dana replied sarcastically, "_excellent_ timing."

"You know what," Logan said, glaring slightly at Dana, "this was stupid. I shouldn't have come. Have a nice life in France." With that Logan turned on his heel and started to walk away angrily. Dana's mind was screaming at her to stop him.

"Why did you come?" Dana called after him, trying to keep her voice as even as possible. Logan stopped in his tracks and turned around, locking eyes with her once again. "I mean…there must have been a reason you came out her at 3:00 in the morning, in the pouring rain I might add."

Logan started to walk back towards her, never losing eye contact.

"I just…" Logan sighed, "I wanted to see you before you left."

"Well why the hell wait until now Logan? Where have you been the past few days?" Dana spat out, the bitterness back in her voice. Logan glared at her.

"I don't have to explain myself to you. What do you even care where I was? You didn't care when you told me you were leaving," Logan said, still angry.

Dana paused for a second. She didn't want to tell him why she cared about him. She wasn't about to tell him that he hurt her so much over the past few days, and that she loved him more than anything.

Luckily, Dana was spared that agony as her taxi pulled up. Dana let out a sigh of relief and started walking away from Logan, tears pricking the back of her eyes. All she said was, "Whatever. Have a nice life, Logan."

Logan stared after her in utter defeat. Before he knew what he was doing he yelled "WAIT!" Dana stopped walking, but didn't turn around.

"What?" She asked, anger still evident in her voice.

"Don't leave," Logan said, so softly that Dana almost didn't hear him.

"Why?" Dana demanded, still not looking at Logan.

Logan sighed. It was now or never. "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" he screamed after her.

Dana could swear her heart stopped. Did he just say he _loved_ her? Dana turned around slowly, as if, if she went too fast he would be gone. When their locked eyes, Dana could tell at once that he was telling the truth.

Dana could feel her feet moving towards Logan, as if they had a mind of their own. When she reached him, she stood transfixed, staring into his brown eyes.

"If you love me," Dana started, "why have you been acting like a jerk the past few days?" Logan sighed, he knew this was coming.

"I don't know Dana…I guess I figured if I didn't say goodbye, if I just tried to cut you out of my life it would hurt less, and I could get over you. But who am I kidding, I'm never going to get over you. I thought…I thought if I pretended to hate you, then I eventually would. But Dana, I love you…I've never felt this way about anyone before in my life, and to be perfectly honest, it scares the hell out of me." Logan looked at Dana uncertainly, wondering how she would react.

Then, she kissed him. Passionately, letting out all of the feelings that have been building inside of her for the last year. Logan, though shocked at first, immediately kissed her back with the same passion, as he stroked her chin gently with his fingertips and Dana wrapped her arms around his neck. The two stood there, completely melting into one another, kissing in the pouring rain.

When the need for oxygen finally became too great, they slowly pulled apart, longing for each other's touch once again.

Dana leaned forward and whispered in Logan's ear "I love you, too." When she leaned back she found Logan's eyes once again and they smiled shyly at each other. Neither could look away, mesmerized by the other's gaze. It was Logan who finally broke the silence, though his eyes never left Dana's.

"I have something for you," Logan said quietly, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a tiny, square blue velvet box, and handing it to Dana. Dana looked at him with an expression of puzzlement and took the box from his hand. When she opened it, it revealed a beautiful white gold necklace, a thin chain with a heart pendant hanging off the end.

"Oh my god…Logan, it's beautiful," Dana said, stunned, as Logan smiled at her, pleased with himself.

"Read it," he urged.

Dana gazed down at the beautiful peace of jewelry and saw that Logan had it engraved. On the front, it read _DC + LR_, and when Dana turned it over, she saw that it read something on the back, too. It said, _Where ever you are, you will always have my heart_.

Dana could feel herself start to cry and she once again kissed Logan, just as passionately as before to show him how much she loved him. Logan, of course, obliged happily.

When they finally pulled apart, breathless, Logan just said, "I'm glad you like it." Logan then gently pulled the necklace out of the box, and helped to fasten it around Dana's neck.

"Beautiful," Logan murmured, staring deeply into Dana's eyes. Once again lost in the moment, the two were very irritated when that moment was interrupted.

"Umm, excuse me, miss," the taxi driver said uncertainly, "sorry to interrupt, but we really must be going."

"Uhh…yeah, right, I'll be right there," Dana said unhappily, knowing it was now that she had to leave Logan.

Turning to the guy standing next to her, Dana kissed him once again, this time soft and tender, never wanting to let him go. But a couple seconds later she pulled back, a tear sliding down her cheek, and said softly, "Goodbye, Logan."

With a final kiss on the cheek, Dana turned around and started walking toward her taxi cab, as Logan stared after her, his eyes full of sorrow. "Bye, Dana," he whispered so quietly he didn't think even Dana heard him.

When Dana got in the cab, she held up her hand against the glass of the window. Logan returned the gesture, sadly. They kept their eyes on one another until the cab pulled so far away, Logan couldn't be seen anymore.

Dana sighed and settled into the back seat, fingering the piece of jewelry around her neck lightly. She didn't want to leave him, especially not now. Dana let the tears flow freely down her face as she thought about all their times together at PCA. She could still feel his lips on hers, and she wanted that feeling again.

But as Dana pulled farther and farther away from PCA, she realized that they wouldn't see each other again for a long time. But Logan's inscription on her necklace was right for her as well, wherever they are, Logan would always have her heart.

_Besides_, Dana thought to herself, _I'll be back one day_.

**Fin**

A/N: Okay, that's the end of the story! What did you guys think, loved it? Hated it? As I said, this is my first totally finished, posted FanFic. Review and say what you thought of it! I may write a sequel to this, I'm not sure. If I get enough reviews saying I should write one, I'll start thinking about it more seriously. So, ifYOU want me to write a sequel,you better push the pretty purple button!Anyways, I hope you guys liked it, and again, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Thanks!


End file.
